According to the

language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in h ...

tree classification by Ethnologue,

Okpe Okpe is a kingdom in Delta State, Nigeria. Today, it is also the name of a local government area. It is one of the many kingdoms that make up Urhobo tribe. Its capital is Orerokpe. The kingdom plays host to the Osubi Airport (also known as Wa ...

, Urhobo and

Uvwie Uvwie (/hu-we-ɛ/), is a principal Urban Local Government Area in Delta State. It lies along the Warri River and it is one of the twenty-four Urhobo Kingdoms. The entirety of the LGA is conurbated with the city of Warri, making it a greater p ...

, alongside

Eruwa Eruwa ( or fully () meaning 'pieces of yam are available here' is a town and the headquarters of Ibarapa East Local Government Area in south-western Nigeria located in Oyo state. Eruwa is 72 km south west of Ibadan and 60 km north ea ...

and Isoko, make up the five Southwestern

Edoid languages The Edoid languages are a few dozen languages spoken in Southern Nigeria, predominantly in the former Bendel State. The name ''Edoid'' derives from its most widely spoken member, Edo, the language of Benin City, which has 25 million native and se ...

of the Benue-Congo group. Quoting Johnstone (1993), Ethnologue puts the

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

Urhobo people The Urhobos are people located in southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger Delta. The Urhobos are the major ethnic group in Delta State, one of the 36 states in Nigeria, Ethnic Nationality in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Urhobo ...

at 546,000,

25,400 (2000) and Uvwie 19,800 (2000). These three languages have geographically neighbouring

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

s: Izon and

Itsekiri The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''i Jekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are one of the Yoruboid subgroup of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiris presently number 2.7 million people and live mainly in the ...

to the west and south, Ukwuani and Isoko to the east and Edo to the north. Thus, Isoko and Urhobo are similar languages that belong to the same linguistic family.

Literature

There is

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

for both the Urhobo and Isoko languages. There are

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

s and

Christian hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

books for both languages. There are also dictionaries for Urhobo, written by Ukere, Osubele, Juliua Arerierian and Akpobome Diffre-Odiete. While all the former ones are bilingual, the last one by Diffre-Odiete is a

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

dictionary of English, Okpe, Urhobo and Uvwie, with over 900 entries in the four languages.

Dialects

Okpe (ISO 639 – 3:oke), Urhobo (ISO 639 – 3:urh) and Uvwie (ISO 639 – 3:evh) are three diverse languages spoken in an area belonging to one and the same ethnic group called the

of Delta State in southern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The Urhobo ethnic nation is culturally united, but it comprises twenty-four political clans or

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

s. Okpe is spoken in only one kingdom (the largest in Urhoboland). Uvwie is spoken in two kingdoms, while Urhobo is spoken, with

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

ical varieties, in the remaining twenty-one kingdoms. The

Agbarho Agbarho is a town in the Ughelli North LGA of Delta State, Nigeria. It is also one of the kingdoms that make up the Urhobo Tribe The Urhobo are the main tribes living within this area. They speak the Agbarho dialect of Urhobo, which is the ta ...

dialect is the accepted standard of written Urhobo for all twenty-four kingdoms. The Okpe and Uvwie clans view their languages as distinct languages and not as dialects of Urhobo. However, in their communication with people of other Urhobo clans, they use Urhobo,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

or Nigerian Pidgin.

Language Endangerment

Okpe and Uvwie speakers have been protesting the dominance of Urhobo-speaking clans over them. As such, they have gone beyond

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

self-preservation to seeking politico-cultural alienation from other Urhobo clans. Therefore, people of the other twenty-one Urhobo–speaking clans view these activities as a threat to the historical and cultural unity of the

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

nation. Previous research shows that the three languages of the Urhobo people are

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

to various degrees. Urhobo is only seriously endangered by the impact of Nigerian Pidgin and English in

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

. Macaulay Mowarin (2005) notes that Uvwie is the most endangered of the trio, facing serious impact in the urban and rural areas from Nigerian Pidgin, Urhobo and English. Okpe is seriously endangered in

Sapele ''Entandrophragma cylindricum'' is a tree of the genus '' Entandrophragma'' of the family ''Meliaceae''. It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli ( ) or sapele mahogany, as well as aboudikro, assi, and muyovu. Origin of the name The name ''sa ...

, the major Okpe town because of the impact of Nigerian Pidgin, Itsekiri, and Urhobo. In the rural areas, Okpe is endangered too, mainly from Itsekiri and Urhobo impact. There are several factors responsible for the gradual loss of the three languages. The contact between the three languages on the one hand, and with other neighbouring languages on the other, have greatly impacted the trio, especially Uvwie. Generally, the language of communication is English among

literate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

people and Nigerian Pidgin among

illiterate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

s and semi-literates of Urhobo and neighbouring communities. This is the case in all spheres of activities, except in annual or periodical traditional religious

rite Rite may refer to: * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition Religion * Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations * Cath ...

s or elders' and chiefs' meetings, especially in rural areas. Okpe, Urhobo and Uvwie are also spoken in some rural homes, markets and

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (di ...

services. Moreover, the non-implementation of the National Policy on Education continues to cause negative effect on language acquisition by newer generations of the Urhobo people. The policy which states that the language of instruction for the first three years of

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

should be the pupils' mother tongue or language of the school's host community has been largely ignored. Fines and other punishments are usually imposed on pupils and students who speak their

native language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

s during school hours in both public and private schools across Delta State. This is to encourage the use of English as a lingua franca. English is made a core subject in order to graduate from secondary school and to gain admission to higher institutions. Intermarriages between

native speaker Native Speaker may refer to: * ''Native Speaker'' (novel), a 1995 novel by Chang-Rae Lee * ''Native Speaker'' (album), a 2011 album by Canadian band Braids * Native speaker, a person using their first language or mother tongue {{disambigua ...

s and people of other language communities also affect intergenerational transfer of the languages, and thus children are raised with English. The impact of English on these native languages has spread to rural areas, especially among the youth and children who communicate in Pidgin and English because of the negative psychological effect of being regarded as primitive if they speak their native language in public. Finally, the adoption of Agbarho dialect as the only acceptable form of written Urhobo has led to the non-documentation of Okpe and Uvwie languages as well as other dialects of Urhobo.

Literature

Dialects

Language Endangerment

Further reading